PETALING JAYA (Nov 2): The world’s largest online shopping campaign, Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, aims to create another sales record next week, using an array of technologies such as augmented reality to promote products on offer in innovative ways.

Started in 2009, the 11.11 shopping festival began with just 27 participating merchants and was intended to raise awareness on the value of online shopping among merchants and consumers.

Last year, nearly 100,000 merchants participated in the global shopping event, with consumers spending RMB120.7 billion (US$17.79 billion or RM75.2 billion) during the 24-hour period on Nov 11.

This year, the annual event will include 140,000 brands and 15 million product listings for the over half-billion mobile users of Alibaba platforms, including Tmall and Taobao Marketplace, according to Alibaba.

11.11 has become one of the most exciting shopping festivals since 2009, with many other online shopping platforms jumping on the 11.11 bandwagon. There is no doubt that the hype will continue to impact the future of shopping malls if online retail continues to expand.

As online shopping has also taken off in Malaysia, this raises questions about the future of malls here.

Tell EdgeProp.my your views about shopping, what’s in store for our shopping centres and if online retail is the way forward. Take part in our survey here and stand a chance to walk away with prizes!

The survey is available now until 5pm, Nov 13. Prize winners will be notified on Nov 15 while the survey results will be published in the Nov 17 issue of EdgeProp.my.